5th Annual West Coast Salsa Congress dancers

Latin Beat Magazine, May, 2003

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Albert Torres was inspired by his mother to be a dancer as a child. He began his formal dance training at age five. Raised between New York City and Puerto Rico, Albert honed his salsa dancing skills in the Latin clubs of both countries. In 1980, he moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career as a dancer. Through the years, his career flourished via his dance instructions, unique choreography and a passion for salsa music. His talents landed him a dance role in the feature film "Mambo Kings," starring Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas, followed by other roles and choreography work in the films "Out To Sea" and "Dance With Me," starring Vanessa Williams and Chayanne.

In 1994, he founded Albert Torres Productions and through hard work, dedication and determination, he has become the most successful promoter of Latin music and events on the West Coast. Thanks to Albert Torres, salsa music and dancing is alive and well in Los Angeles. As a promoter he is unequaled on the West Coast and cares as much for local bands as for the top acts from around the world.

With his wife Maya by his side, Albert has raised the bar on quality and professionalism, and the couple has become international ambassadors of salsa music and dance. In May they will produce the 5th Annual West Coast Salsa Congress, the largest and most popular event of its kind in the world.

Born in Algiers, Maya Youcef-Torres spent her first nine years there. She began ballet at age six and knew then she was going to be a dancer one day. At age nine, her family moved to Syria where there were no dance classes offered. She then directed her energy towards basketball and the martial arts, although she eventually studied belly dancing and joined the dance team at her school as well.

At age 16, Maya was trained intensively by a Russian ballet teacher to dance solo at the opening and the closing ceremonies for an internationally televised audience at the 1987 Mediterranean Games.

In 1988, Maya moved to París, France. She continued her martial arts training and was a two-time silver medallist in the París College competition. In Paris, she also discovered zuke dancing, merengue and lambada, and performed with an amateur hip-hop team for two years.

Maya moved to San Diego in 1996 and, three years later, discovered salsa for the first time. Within a few weeks, she heard about the Salsa Congress in Puerto Rico. Without any prior knowledge of Puerto Rico or the Spanish language, Maya took the plunge and went to the Congress, where, by the way, she saw her husband Albert Torres for the first time. Because of her extraordinary experience in PR and the Los Angeles dancers that inspired her, she moved to Los Angeles in December 1999. She took classes with various salsa instructors and auditioned for dance teams. She danced with "Salsa Confunkshion" and "Salsa in the Mix." Currently Maya belongs to "Seaon Stylist Dance Team," and is Vice President of Albert Torres Productions.

Alicia and Raúl Gómez met on a Sunday afternoon many moons ago at the Club El Mirador in Chicago, Illinois. Alicia was a jitterbugger (swing) and Raúl's favorite dance was the danzón; some might say, a marriage made in dance heaven.

They tied the knot in October, 1958, and moved to California in 1961, where they both worked during the day in their own business. They danced the nights away, however, and together throughout the years have danced to everything from swing, tango and disco, to salsa and the honorable danzón. As Alicia states of their relationship: "Our hearts and souls will be united eternally through our mutual passion for music and dance."

They met Albert Torres in 1991, during the filming of "Mambo Kings," and since then, have danced all over the world at the various salsa congresses and have been featured in various films and TV commercials.

In Los Angeles, the Gómez couple is renowned for their generosity and quiet philanthropic support of the arts. At this year's Salsa Congress in Los Angeles, the "Dynamic Duo" will be honored with a "Special Salsa Ambassador Award." When you see them at the Congress, stop and say hello to this beautiful couple, known in Los Angeles as the "godparents of all dancers."

Luis Vázquez was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. He has always had a fascination for dance and he began salsa dancing in 1992 with no formal training. Joby Vázquez is Dominican, born in New York City. After her family moved to California at the age of 19, she began studying modern, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and tap. She spent three years in an Orange County dance company called "On Common Ground." Joby began salsa dancing in 1993.

Luis and Joby met in the nightclubs where all the "salseros" hung out. They found they not only had a mutual passion for dance, but for each other. The dancers married and have a beautiful baby girl named Pacion Yakira, meaning "passion precious."

When Luis and Joby began dancing together in 1993, they were determined to show the world a style of salsa never before seen. It began at Puerto Rico's 1st Annual Congress in 1997 and then quickly spread from their visits all over the world. They've trained some of the best salsa dancers in Los Angeles as part of the first dance company that specializes in salsa in California, "Salsa Brava." Salsa Brava has performed and instructed in 26 different countries and numerous cities nationwide.